title: Bidirectional effects of aversive learning on perceptual acuity are mediated by the sensory cortex.
abstract: Although emotional learning affects sensory acuity, little is known about how these changes are facilitated in the brain. We found that auditory fear conditioning in mice elicited either an increase or a decrease in frequency discrimination acuity depending on how specific the learned response was to the conditioned tone. Using reversible pharmacological inactivation, we found that the auditory cortex mediated learning-evoked changes in acuity in both directions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aizenberg
authors.forename: Maria Neimark
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Geffen
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D004056:Differential Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D004058:Diffusion; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004597:Electroshock; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009118:Muscimol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D009118:Muscimol